Thursday, December 29, 2005

Never let it be said that the American college educational system ever missed an opportunity to promote the aims of terrorists and their allies when it came to money. Stop the ISM has received notification that the Palestine Solidarity Movement (PSM), the name the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) uses for its member groups in the United States, is going to have its fifth annual conference at a major American university-this time Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

The following announcement was put out to ISM activists in the United States:

Palestine Solidarity MovementAnnouncement

Fifth Annual Divestment Conference

("Fifth Annual National Student Conference of the Palestine Solidarity Movement")

Georgetown University

February 17 - 19, 2006

More information to come.

A quick call to President George DeGioia of Georgetown University netted no response or comment from his office or staff about the event. Another call placed to the campus office of communications to verify the event was actually scheduled was also met with no response. According to Fabiola Joubert in the campus Office of Communications, she could not confirm or deny the event and said she had no idea where to find a schedule of campus events for the Washington campus. She referred this reporter to Eric Smulson, campus press officer, who was "in meetings" and "unavailable."

The Palestine Solidarity Movement has held national conferences on major university campuses four out of the last five years, first at UC Berkeley, then U Michigan, Ohio State and Duke University. At the last conference held at Duke University in 2004, Huwaida Arraf, one of the PSM's main organizers, admitted that the Palestine Solidarity Movement works with Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, all illegal terrorist groups per the US state department. That particular event was also found to be an anti-Semitic hate fest which also produced articles in the campus newspaper later attacking Jews in America as a "privileged class." At the earlier event at U Michigan, chants of "Kill the Jews" were heard among the attendees. Divestment from Israel is a major theme, an attempt to hurt the Israeli population and force it to capitulate to PLO demands; in other words, an extension of the Arab boycott against Jews in the Middle East for having their own country. Public reaction to the 2004 Duke event no doubt made finding a venue for another conference difficult which might explain why there was no such conference held at a major university in 2005....

Georgetown's Arab studies department has always had an anti-Israel slant due to wealthy Saudi and Palestinian Arab donors. Middle East Studies professor John Esposito, who frequently speaks as an apologist for militant Islamic groups, is based at Georgetown. He heads Georgetown’s Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. That fits nicely with the new theme of the PSM...

One of those Saudi donors to Georgetown is the omnipresent Prince Alaweed Bin Talal. Bin Talal was the Saudi sheik who accused Israel of "slaughtering the Palestinians" as he offered a ten million dollar check to former New York Mayor Rudy Giuiliani at Ground Zero of the World Trade Center disaster. Giuliani refused to accept the check. Bin Talal is one of the major financiers of Hamas, having contributed over 400 million dollars to date to the terrorist organization.

That Georgetown would look the other way comes as no surprise. One of Bin Talal's "gifts" to Georgetown University was the second largest one in the University's history-20 million dollars. No doubt after Duke, the PSM had trouble finding an American university willing to host such a venue again, but money talks and Georgetown listens....

Yes, the above is from Front Page Magazine, and the use of that source might upset some of our liberal friends. Readers are invited to disprove any of the above. Go here to enable links in the article.

Sunday, December 18, 2005

So, here it is the Sunday before Christmas, and I'm thumbing through today's edition of the Washington Post. In the Metro section, I find " Muslim Leader Forges Interfaith Accord." Some excerpts:

"He is a devout Muslim who speaks both Arabic and Hebrew. He quotes the Torah almost as well as the Koran and once protested the threatened removal of crucifixes at Georgetown University.

"He is a Palestinian by birth who believes in Israel's right to exist.

"He wishes that the media paid more attention to his message that Islam, Christianity and Judaism share more similarities than differences, but he is not always good at returning their calls.... "

"Islam, Christianity and Judaism share more similarities than differences"? Where have I heard that before? I have my doubts as to the extent of the similarities.

According to the above-cited article,

"At a time when his adopted country is engaged in a struggle with terrorism driven by Islamic extremists, Hendi, senior imam of the Islamic Society of Frederick County, preaches interfaith understanding and calls on fellow Muslims to rescue their religion from extremists.

"That message has helped him open doors to senior government officials searching for ways to build better relationships in the Islamic world. The State Department calls on him to host visiting Islamic clergy, and news organizations dial him up for comment, usually after a terrorist attack.

"Part of the attention comes with being the first full-time Muslim chaplain at GU, which also was the first such post in the United States. Hendi teaches theology there and also serves as a chaplain at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. And he teaches an introduction to Islam class in Rockville for Johns Hopkins University's Evergreen Society for older adults.

"As the senior imam of the Islamic Society, Hendi also has shaped the growing Islamic presence in the outer Maryland suburbs. After years of holding services in a doctor's waiting room, a hotel ballroom and wherever else there was space, his congregation recently opened the doors of its first permanent mosque. Hendi lives with his wife and four children in Frederick.

"The Islamic Society's $2 million mosque -- along with its growing list of activities, including Arabic instruction and classes about the Koran -- opened in October. Set in a renovated farmhouse on Key Parkway, the mosque has prompted Muslims to relocate from Gaithersburg and as far away as Baltimore, said mosque members and assistant imam Reda Sallam.

"Part of the draw, there and in classes, is Hendi....

"At 1:30 p.m. on the dot, as a man intoned the Islamic call to prayer, into the mosque strode Hendi.

"'Salaam aleikum,' Hendi said, his black robes fluttering. That morning, suicide bombers had struck two Shiite mosques in Iraq, killing nearly 100 people. Make no mistake, he told the congregation: Killing is counter to any Islamic teaching. He reminded the group that the three great Western religions share more similarities than differences. Above all, he said, Judaism, Islam and Christianity demand that their followers honor the lives of others.

"'The Koran goes so far as to look after the dignity of a tree,' Hendi said. 'In other words, you must resist evil with good.'

"At the conclusion, he asked his congregation to mingle with his guests, urging Muslims to use the Hebrew greeting 'shalom'...

"'He is a fantastic teacher!' gushed Irene Schulkin, 77, a real estate broker from Bethesda. 'He travels with Karen Hughes! He says there should be peace between the Jews and the Muslims. We all thought it was the most interesting course Evergreen ever offered.'

"Actually, Hendi has not traveled with Hughes, the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs who serves as President Bush's emissary to the Muslim world and beyond. But he has met with Hughes, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Bush and other government officials to discuss creating interfaith dialogues with Muslim communities here and abroad. He also met with President Bill Clinton and members of Clinton's administration.

"Now a U.S. citizen, Hendi came to the United States 17 years ago. He likes to tell people that his name is the Arabic version of John the Baptist's.

"After most of his guests departed, Hendi shed his black robe, known as an abaya, for a rumpled charcoal suit. 'Now I can go back to who I am,' he said....

"One hand in his pocket, a bud microphone on his lapel, Hendi wanted to talk about Islamic ethics, but he kept getting sidetracked by politics. He found himself, again, explaining the term jihad. Terrorists, he said, have hijacked the word, which can mean any spiritual struggle.

"'I do believe that what I'm doing for you is a form of jihad, because jihad is about knowledge,' he said. 'For those who sit listening, it is also a jihad, because you're sitting here struggling to listen to me with my accent."

"People chuckled at his wisecrack. But the tone changed when a student pressed him to explain why the Koran seems able to support extremist views.

I find some truth in Hendi's finger-pointing at all religions, particularly as I think back some centuries. But I wonder how he explains all those militant and jihadist verses in the Koran. And Hendi's definiton of jihad doesn't correspond with what I've learned. Perhaps Hendi and Esposito are friends?

Returning now to the conclusion of today's article in the Washington Post:

[Hendi said,] "'I don't want my children to die. I don't want Jewish children to die. I don't think God is a real estate agent. If we are really the children of God, I don't think He would want us to fight over anything.'

"And then Hendi got into his Toyota and put a heavy foot down on the gas pedal, late for a luncheon at the State Department celebrating the 10-year anniversary of peacemaking efforts in the Balkans."

"Washington DC--Georgetown University, a private Catholic institution in Washington D.C., appointed what is thought to be the first Muslim chaplain at any college in America. Imam Yahya Hendi has been serving as an official university chaplain at Georgetown since August 10. Hendi joins eight Catholic priests and two Jewish rabbis to become the eleventh full time chaplain at the college, according to an August 28 Washington Post article. This first-ever appointment highlights the long neglected exigency for university-recognized Muslim leadership on college campuses around the country.

"As chaplain at Georgetown, Hendi would serve as an Imam and religious scholar and counselor for Muslims of diverse backgrounds while also functioning as a liaison between the Muslim student body and the administration. Speaking to iviews.com on August 31, Hendi emphasized that his role was not to supplant Muslim student leadership already in place at Georgetown. He said he was working closely with the Muslim Student Association (MSA) at the college...."

"I have always worked to bridge the gap between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. I have spoken against Osamah Ben laden and like wise. I have been and will continue to promote true respect of women in Muslim countries and the right of Christians to be fully equal under the law in those countries. I have traveled around the world in defence of American Jews. When ever I heard that there was an allegation accusing Jews of being behind the SEP/11 attacks, I went to just Say; 'No, stop it'; Jews suffered like every American. My statements in this regard are to be found in Arab and Muslims media. I am suffering in some circles in my community because of my views. Yet, willing to suffer for my country and my principles.

"My life was threatened many times because of my views and I was called names like 'traitor to Islam; and a 'sellout' to Americans because I spoke in attack of those who dare to attack America. I still can not travel to some of those countries out of fear for my life...."

So, it looks as though many of Hendi's fellow Muslims don't see Islam the same way. Aren't they all reading the same Koran? Hendi's message of peace doesn't seem to be well received by others who follow "the religion of peace."

Imam Yahya Hendi is a man of some celebrity in some circles and a man of some notoriety in other circles. Political watchers may recall that he was the featured imam at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

Maybe Hendi is the kind, peace-promoting soul he appears to be in the Washington Post and in my quick Internet search this morning. But I keep coming back in my mind to Alamoudi, who seemed to be a moderate, but is now serving time in the penitentiary for his ties to terrorism.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Abdullah Alnoshan, Director, Muslim World League, was deported. He was charged with conspiracy to commit immigration fraud and seeking to deter law-enforcement agents from discovering his true immigration status.

According to a December 13, 2005 article in Robert Spencer's Dhimmi Watch:

"Harvard University and Georgetown University each announced yesterday that they had received $20 million donations from Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, a Saudi businessman and member of the Saudi royal family, to finance Islamic studies....

"Georgetown said it would use the gift - the second-largest it has ever received - to expand its Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, which is part of its Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. It said it would rename the center the H.R.H. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding....

"Martin Kramer, the author of Ivory Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America, which contends that the study of the Middle East and Islam is politically biased, said last night, 'Prince Alwaleed knows that if you want to have an impact, places like Harvard or Georgetown, which is inside the Beltway, will make a difference'....

"In making the two gifts, the prince focused on the importance of uniting disparate cultures.

"Harvard's news release quoted him as saying that he hoped Harvard's Islamic studies program 'will enable generations of students and scholars to gain a thorough understanding of Islam and its role both in the past and in today's world.'"

In September 2005, Always On Watch blogged information about Prince Alwaleed here and here, when it was revealed that the prince had invested in the Fox News Network.

"WASHINGTON -- Accuracy in Media (AIM) is urging a full inquiry into a report that a Saudi billionaire caused the Fox News Channel (FNC) to dramatically alter its coverage of the Muslim riots in France after he called the network to complain. The Saudi billionaire, Al-waleed bin Talal, is a friend of News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch and controls an influential number of voting shares in the company.

The controversial comments came at an Arab media conference featuring representatives of Time magazine, USA Today, PBS, The Wall Street Journal, and other news organizations. The conference and the Saudi Prince's growing influence in News Corporation are among the subjects of a new December-A AIM Report that has just been posted at the AIM website (www.aim.org). The report raises the specter of Arab money influencing News Corporation and other U.S. media companies.

Liberal journalist Danny Schechter, a participant in the conference, reports that Al-waleed, who is a member of the Saudi Royal Family and investor in the Fox News parent company News Corporation, gave an interview boasting that he had called Fox to complain about coverage of the 'Muslim riots' in France. He said he 'called as a viewer' and 'convinced them to change' the coverage because 'they were not Muslim riots but riots against poverty and inequality.' And 'they changed' the coverage, the Saudi reportedly said.

Another report on the comments, carried by the Dubai-based newspaper the Khaleej Times, says that Al-waleed personally called Rupert Murdoch to complain. The Saudi said, 'After a short while, there was a change' in the coverage.

An AIM call to Fox News asking for comment was not returned. This is not the first time that Al-waleed has made controversial statements. His $10 million contribution to a 9/11 fund was rejected when he blamed the terror attacks on U.S. Middle East policy. Fifteen of the 19 terrorist hijackers on 9/11 came from Saudi Arabia."

A lengthy report about radical Arabs seeking influence over the U. S. news media from Accuracy in Media (AIM) is available here. The following is an excerpt from the introduction to the article:

"Are the U.S. media being courted by those who hate America? Or is an honest attempt at 'international understanding' at hand?

"The Arab Thought Foundation, which has strong financial connections to Saudi Arabia, is convening a conference in early December that is advertised as being designed to 'enhance interaction between Arab and international media organizations and bridge the gap between them.' It is an invitation-only meeting in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, one of only three nations, along with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, that recognized the Taliban regime in Afghanistan....

"Advertised speakers include Karen Elliott House, publisher of the Wall Street Journal; David Ignatius of the Washington Post; Ed Bradley of CBS and 60 Minutes; Barbara Slavin of USA Today; Pat Mitchell, President and CEO of the Public Broadcasting Service; Matthew Winkler, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News; and Jim Kelly, managing editor of Time magazine. 'Proud Sponsors' include Reader's Digest, CNBC, and Al-Arabiya television....

"The conference program also features a 'spotlight' on Prince al-Waleed bin Talal, described as 'one of the world's most influential investors.' That is certainly the case. He has just accumulated a significant financial interest in a major American medium that is trusted by conservatives—News Corporation, parent of Fox News Channel....

"Bakr Mohammad Bin Laden, general director of the Bin Laden Group in Saudi Arabia, a construction company based in Saudi Arabia, is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Arab Thought Foundation.

"Despite the popular notion that Osama bin Laden is the black sheep of the family, the bin Laden Group, three Saudi princes and the government of Sudan have been sued by 9/11 Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism for allegedly bankrolling al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban."

The Islamification of our universities and the news media continues apace, financed by Saudi dollars.

"'As you know, since the 9/11 events, the image of Islam has been tarnished in the West,' said Alwaleed, who is chairman of the Riyadh-based Kingdom Holding Co. and has extensive business holdings in Europe and the United States.

"He said his gifts to Georgetown and Harvard will be used 'to teach about the Islamic world to the United States,' and the new programs at American University in Beirut and American University in Cairo will 'teach the Arab world about the American situation.'

"The $20 million gift to Georgetown is the second-largest ever received by the Jesuit-run university, school officials said. It will be used to expand the activities of the university's 12-year-old Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.

"'We are deeply honored by Prince Alwaleed's generosity,' said a statement from Georgetown President John J. DeGioia, who met Alwaleed Nov. 7 in a Paris hotel to sign documents formalizing the donation....

"The Georgetown center, part of the university's School of Foreign Service, will be renamed the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. The $20 million will endow three faculty chairs, expand programs and academic outreach, provide scholarships for students and expand library facilities, Alwaleed said.

"Center director John L. Esposito said in an interview that 'a significant part of the money will be used to beef up the think tank part of what the center does.'

"Up to now, he said, the center has not had enough resources 'to respond to the tremendous demand that is out there, from the government, church and religious groups, the media and corporations to address and answer issues like, "What is the actual relationship between the West and the Muslim world? Is Islam compatible with modernization?" Now we can run workshops and conferences [on these subjects] both here and overseas.'

"When asked about the comments that caused the rejection of Alwaleed's gift to New York, Esposito said: 'There is nothing wrong with his expressing his opinion on American foreign policy. Clearly, it was done in a constructive way. He was expressing his enormous sympathy with the United States but also trying to give people the context in which this [terrorist attack] occurred.'"

My prediction: Georgetown University will become an Islamic apologist center with significant impact as it burnishes the image of Islam, thanks to the influx of Saudi dollars.

Saturday, December 10, 2005

While this entry doesn't directly pertain to Northern Virginia, it indicates that the blogsosphere gets a bit of attention in the mainstream media.

As published in Blogwatch, in the December 12, 2005 edition of Time Magazine:

"When the Sept. 11 memorial design was unveiled this fall for Flight 93's crash site in Pennsylvania, LITTLE GREEN FOOTBALLS and other conservatives decried it as a 'monumental insult,' largely because the crescent of red maple trees resembled an Islamic prayer station, pointing toward Mecca. Some critics tipped their hats last week at the bowl-shaped redesign, above, until ERROR THEORY pointed out that the 'Islamo-fascist shrine ... still contains all of the features that made it a terrorist memorial.; One element that was retained: the flight path lined with 44 translucent blocks, one for each person who died in the crash--including the four hijackers."

Last summer, Michelle Malkin had this to say about the original design for the Flight 93 Memorial, The Crescent of Embrace:

"...These were Americans who refused to sit down and be quiet and allow Islamic terrorists unfettered control over the flight stick of history. These were doers, not hand-wringers, who engaged in a violent and valiant struggle against evil.

"I remind you of all this because the official Flight 93 memorial unveiled last week is now embroiled in overdue public controversy. Funded with a mix of public money and private cash (including a $500,000 grant from Teresa Heinz's far-left Heinz Endowments), the winning design, titled the 'Crescent of Embrace,' features a grove of maple trees ringing the crash site in the shape of an unmistakable red crescent. The crescent, New York University Middle East Studies professor Bernard Haykel told the Johnstown, Pa., Tribune-Democrat, 'is the symbol of ritual and religious life for Muslims.'

"Some design contest jury members reportedly raised concerns about the jarring symbol of the hijackers' faith implanted on the hallowed ground where the passengers of Flight 93 were murdered. But their recommendations to change the name of the memorial (to 'Arc of Embrace,' or some such whitewashing) were ignored. Memorial architect Paul Murdoch, whose firm emphasizes 'environmental responsibility and sustainability," did not return calls and e-mails seeking comment, but he did emphasize to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that his creation was about 'healing' and 'contemplation.' He is also proud of his idea to hang a bunch of wind chimes in a tall tower at the site as a 'gesture of healing and bonding.'

"Let's set aside the utter boneheaded-ness of using a symbol that, inadvertently or not, commemorates the killers' faith instead of the victims' revolt. The soft-and-fuzzy memorial design of 'Crescent of Embrace' still does injustice to the steely courage of Flight 93's passengers and crew. It evokes the defeatism embodied by those behind a similar move to turn the 9/11 memorial at Ground Zero in New York City into a pacifist guilt complex.

"This is no way to fight a war. Or to remember those who have died fighting it.

"A proper war memorial stirs to anger and action. We all remember passenger Todd Beamer's last heard words as he and his fellow Americans prepared to take back the plane from al Qaeda's killers, don't we?

"No, the phrase wasn't 'Let's meditate.' It was 'Let's roll.'"

The name for the redesigned Flight 93 Memorial is Sacred Ground, but some of the elements of the first design remain the same. Error Theoryhas extensive analysis of the latest design and proclaims it "an Islamo-fascist shrine."

Update (Sunday, December 11, 7:40 P.M., EST): According to an email received from someone who has read this blog article, the memorial's architect claims that most of Error Theory's points are not part of the new design. However, the original design was as Malkin explicated.

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

STLtoday , the web site for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, has an article on the 9/11 Mosque and its congregants: Abdelhaleem Ashqar, HAMAS fundraiser; Mirsada Stabancic, wife of Randall Todd "Ismail" Royer, a native of St. Louis who is now in jail for supporting al-Qaeda and jihadist activities against India; and Omar Abu Ali, father of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali.

Get sickened by this description of the 9/11 Mosque:

"Imagine a community of faith devoted to its members but also open to outsiders, a big-hearted place that sponsors schools, comforts the afflicted and cares for the needy - the sort of place that could raise $12,500 cash at a single service for victims of Hurricane Katrina."

Why the hell is Abdelhaleem Ashqar, who's under house arrest, allowed to leave his home for Friday prayers?

Arsalan Iftikhar in a heroic pose

Randall Todd Royer and Arsalan Iftikhar, CAIR's legal advisor who's also from St. Louis, make me ashamed to claim St. Louis as my hometown. Then there was the honor killing of 16-year-old Palestina "Tina" Isa by her father in St.Louis in 1989. It had been difficult to track information about this story online, but Phyllis Chesler reports on Palestina "Tina" Isa's murder and other honor killings in the U.S. and Europe in her new book The Death of Feminism : What's Next in the Struggle for Women's Freedom.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

According to a November 29, 2005 story on this news channel(all emphases this blog author's):

American Citizen Convicted For Terrorism: Man Conspired To Assassinate The President

"FALLS CHURCH, Va. -- An American citizen whose father worked for the Saudi Embassy is convicted for conspiring with Al Qaida operatives to assassinate President George W. Bush.

Ahmed Abu Ali, of Falls Church, Va., admitted to the crime in a videotaped confession.

"As a boy, Abu Ali attended the Saudi Islamic Academy in Alexandria. He even became a member of the National Honor Society. In his senior year, Ali's classmates voted him 'the most likely to become a martyr.'

"In the video, the 24-year-old said he went to Saudi Arabia in 2002 to study Islam, and met an Al Qaida operative who invited him to join the Jihad against America.

"'I immediately accepted because of my hatred of the U.S., for what I felt was its support of Israel against the Palestinian people,' Abu Ali said on the tape.

"Abu Ali also admitted that he suggested blowing up American warplanes, warships, or targeting hi-ranking U.S. officials.

"He also said it was his Al Qaida contact's idea to kill the president.

"Ali Abu went on to say on the videotape, 'I preferred this idea because it was easier to carry out since the U.S. president often appears in pubic places.'

"The group then plotted exactly how they would carry out the assassination.

"They agreed that they would 'either use at least three snipers who would fire simultaneously to increase the hit probability, or to carry out a martyr operation when the U.S. president goes out to greet the people.'

"During his trial, Ali testified that the Saudis beat the confession out of him. But jurors saw him on tape pretend to cock a rifle and laugh.

"'What was striking was how relaxed he looked, almost carefree...[he] didn't look like someone tortured, pressured into confessing,' said Roger Cressey, an NBC News Terror Analyst.

"Now the little boy voted most likely to become a martyr is facing 20 years to life in prison.

"Abu Ali will be sentenced in February."

Note: As we locals well know, the name of Abu Ali's high school is the Islamic Saudi Academy, not the Saudi Islamic Academy.

"The 11th-grade textbook, for example, says one sign of the Day of Judgment will be that Muslims will fight and kill Jews, who will hide behind trees that say: 'Oh Muslim, Oh servant of God, here is a Jew hiding behind me. Come here and kill him.'..

"Some teachers 'focus more on hatred,' said one teenager, who recited by memory the signs of the coming of the Day of Judgment. 'They teach students that whatever is kuffar [non-Muslim], it is okay for you' to hurt or steal from that person..."

In light of the conviction of Ahmed Abu Ali, isn't it time for an extensive investigation of ISA on the part of Homeland Security? The Islamic Saudi Academy published a caption saying "Voted Most Likely to be a Martyr" to appear below Abu Ali's yearbook photo!

"A few miles outside of Washington and a stone's throw from Mt. Vernon Plantation - George Washington's home - the Saudi government is teaching Wahhab Islam to hundreds of Muslim-American children. The school, called the Islamic Saudi Academy, is one of an estimated 200-600 in the U.S. that indoctrinate 30,000 students in the teachings of Koran."

"In 1988, 'Dusty' Rhodes, the Fairfax County official in charge of renting school facilities, bragged to a local pastor that the Saudis had not paid the county a dime for the deed to the school. According to Rhodes, the Saudis got the use of the building in exchange for making renovations. Once renovations were complete they were given the deed. At the time, Fairfax County discriminated against churches who used public school facilities by charging them commercial rates, rather than the lower rates charged other community groups. The county was forced to halt the discrimination after a lawsuit.

"In a county where just the tax assessment on a vacant acre can exceed $250,000, the Saudis not only got the building but acres of athletic fields."

Where did Abu Ali acquire his deep hatred of the United States? In Saudi Arabia? Or did his hatred begin with his Wahhabist education at the Islamic Saudi Academy in Fairfax County, Virginia?

Sunday, November 27, 2005

We've added buttons to enable readers to add content from our blog to news readers offered by Bloglines and My Yahoo! For those people who would like to receive updates by Email, we've added a form so that they may subscribe via Bloglet.

Check out what others say about us by clicking on the link Blogs that link here.

Lastly, we've added a "widget" to display books on Islam identified by the The Truth Project initiative. Consult The Truth Project for ways of getting out the truth about Islam and its designs on the West.

One of the 9/11 suicide hijackers, Waleed M. Alshehri, had lived in a large rental house in Vienna, Virginia. His and his friends' comings and goings (loud parties, pistol shooting, fancy cars with out-of-state license plates, people "always walking around out front with cellphones," a van permanently parked outside the home with a Middle-Eastern man in it monitoring a scanner or radio) aroused suspicions. The neighbor across the street, John E. Albritton, called federal authorities and another neighbor says residents complained to the FBI.

Sadly, the concerns of Mr. Albritton and others could not prevent the 9/11 attacks.

"Right now – there are TWO bills in Congress that will affect bloggers – one good, one bad. The bill that deserves our support is HR 1606 – The Online Freedom of Speech Act.

"The other bill – HR 4194 – is a substitute offered by those most interested in regulating the internet. Its supporters are engaged in an aggressive campaign to pass this legislation in Congress, in an effort to muddy the waters and distract Congress from passing real protections for bloggers. They're so terrified of your freedom to speak your mind that they've actually compared giving freedom to bloggers to the scandal involving Scooter Libby in the White House. No, we're not making that up."

"Write your congressmen in no uncertain terms. Put a notice on your blog, send e-mails to friends letting them know. Do something or this media that we love will change and not for the better. If you really value the First Amendment, do this now!!!!"

The author notes, "Muslim extremists in the U.S. have manipulated our legal system to go on fishing expeditions. By filing a libel action, as in the ISB case, they obtain access to limited discovery. This includes notes and emails and widens the net of possible suspects to include in their alleged "web of conspiracy."

One commenter responds, "(2) Mahdi Braying Jackass may well have jeopardized the tax-exempt status of his Muslim-American Society, as shown at http://www.omdurman.org/taxpayer/MAS/. IRS REV RULE 75-384, J. ACTIVITIES THAT ARE ILLEGAL OR CONTRARY TO PUBLIC POLICY says that promotion of civil disobedience-- which Mahdi Braying Jackass has done-- is inconsistent with a charitable mission and may be cause for revocation of the group's 501(c)(3) status. Perhaps Mr. Braying Jackass' civil disobedience activities in his capacity as the MAS's executive director should be brought to the IRS's official notice. Here is the address in case anyone wants to act on this:

Last year, I reported on HAMAS operative Ismail Selim Elbarasse, who was caught along with his wife as she was capturing video of the Bay Bridge's infrastructure. Jihad Watch reports that 3 men were arrested in London on terrorist offenses and police found a film of DC sites in one of the men's positions.

Axis of Islam has submitted comments to Northern Virginiastan on several different occasions. Here he/she fisks a WaPo editorial claiming that Islam has nothing to do with the civil war unfolding in France.

From the November 8, 2005 edition of Campus Watch, in an article entitled "Georgetown's Jihad Denier," comes the following information:

...[I]n one of Professor Esposito's books written prior to 9/11 entitled Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality Dr. Esposito had concluded that the threat of Islamic terrorism was a myth and not reality. But in his post 9/11 book Unholy War and in his presentation that night, Esposito conceded that Islamic terrorism really exists but identified the cause as American foreign policy.

"At one point, for example, Dr. Esposito characterized American foreign policy as approving the rape and murder of Arabs in Palestine by Israelis and then, to make it OK, offering a little foreign aid to build houses for those who survived...."

In his October 24, 2005 "Struggle for the Mind of Islam" presentation to the Cosmos Club, Professor Esposito "equated the violence of terrorism and murder of innocent civilians as resistance of the same kind that we Americans used during our Revolutionary War, ...said jihad is always defensive, in defense of Muslim land, ...and argued that since the Israelis admit they are using reasonable violence, they are no different than the Islamic terrorists who believe their violence is reasonable."

According to Cincinnatus, the anonymous author of the article in Campus Watch,

"It came to me finally that the program was dedicated more to the struggle for the American mind than the mind of Islam. Another person at the program evidently thought so too and asked why the club could not have a more balanced program. He suggested inviting Dr. Daniel Pipes.

"The Chairman, however, insisted that the program was balanced; it had a 'geographical balance' as each of the participants discussed a different Muslim area. If this means swallowing Professor Esposito's misrepresentations of jihad, or terrorism, and American foreign policy, then the Cosmos Club has a very different notion of balance than those of us who care passionately about the threats facing America."

Saturday, November 05, 2005

Imagine you're a woman. When your brother is born, people say 'It's a boy, how wonderful,' yet when you are born they say, 'A little girl, how wonderful!' Why do they use diminutive form? Your arrival is welcome if you are the first or second girl; it is best your mother has no more than two. On the other hand, the arrival of boys is always welcome! The more the merrier, the saying goes.

Imagine you're a woman. You will always need to seek permission from your guardian not only for your first marriage, according to Islamic legal scholars, but in every other matter. You cannot study without your guardian's permission, even at the level of PhD and you cannot get a job and earn a living either. Furthermore, many shamelessly argue that a woman must have permission to work even in the private sector.

Imagine you're a woman and picture your 15-year old son or your brother accompanying you on every journey. Your guardian might request a bribe in return for setting you free from his unwanted company but will not accept cash since his self-respect prevents him from touching a woman's money. Instead, he will ask for a car or the money to be paid in installments.

Imagine you're a woman, and you are subject physically abused and maybe even killed. When the press publishes your photograph and exposes the brutality of the beatings, the public will only care whether you were veiled. When the man who broke your ribs is your husband, people will believe there was a reason behind his actions.

Imagine you're a woman whose husband breaks your nose, arm, or leg. When you file a complaint, the judge responds reproachfully, 'Is that all?' He believes physical abuse to be a natural occurrence amongst all families as the saying goes 'Beating the beloved is like eating raisins.'

Imagine you're a woman who must be driven in a ‘limousine’ by your Indian or Sri Lankan driver because you yourself are not allowed behind the steering wheel.

Imagine you're a woman in the 21st century at a time when experts in Islamic law are issuing religious edicts on sexual intercourse with the enemy’s womenfolk, but you do not know to which enemy they refer to.

Imagine you're a woman who writes in a newspaper, and every time you write about women issues such as poverty, unemployment, and legal issues, they say: 'Never mind her, it is all women's talk.

Why don't the others commit Suicide?

Badriyya Al-Bishr is a lecturer in social sciences at King Saud University.

As noted on Northern Virginiastan, the Muslim American Society is the front for the Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S. Shaker el Sayyed, who was recently named imam at Dar Al Hijrah mosque AKA the 9/11 mosque, has served as Secretary-General of the Muslim American Society. Both el Sayyed and Imam Johari Abdul-Malik supported aspring presidential assassin Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, whose trial began today.

"This hearing would have exposed Saudi support for the wrathful dogma of Wahhabism, the rejection of the co-existence of different religions and condemnation of Christians, Jews, and all other non Muslims. It would have revealed their attempts to instill contempt for America and its non Wahhabi-style of government.

"Witnesses called by the Judiciary Committee to testify were former CIA director Jim Woolsey, Steve Emerson of The Investigation Project and several U.S. Islamic community advocates. These are highly informed experts who have information that our policy makers need to hear."

"...The reason this question deserves urgent attention should be obvious: Since November 2001, there has been a roughly three-fold increase in the price of a barrel of oil, from $18 to as much as $70. As a result, Saudi Arabia -- which currently exports about 10 million barrels per day -- receives an extra half-billion dollars every day from oil-consuming nations.

"If even a fraction of that $500 million in found-money -- to say nothing of the other resources of the Saudi kingdom -- is being put in the service of our Islamofascist enemies, we are likely to face an even more serious problem in the future than we do today.

"As today's Judiciary Committee hearing would surely have demonstrated, it is a safe bet that a significant portion of the Saudis' petro-windfall will be put in the hands of Islamist totalitarians bent on our destruction. That is not simply because Saudi Arabia has long had ties to Islamofascist terrorists, however.

"Worse yet, the Saudis are themselves the wellspring of Sunni Islamofascism....

"Had the hearing not been cancelled, senators would have received powerful evidence of the Saudis' true colors. From former Clinton CIA Director James Woolsey and a member of the International Religious Freedom Commission, Nina Shea, they would have heard the breathtaking results of a study performed earlier this year by Freedom House. It indisputably demonstrated that the Saudi government has been directly responsible for putting materials rife with jihadist propaganda and incitement in American mosques.

"From Yigal Carmon, the founder of the highly-respected Middle East Media Research Institute, legislators would have seen videos of similar hate-mongering that represents standard fare on Saudi television. (It is to be hoped that, when the hearing is held, senators will examine whether such material will now be beamed directly into the United States via DirecTV. This would appear to be the upshot of a deal whereby a controversial Saudi prince, Al-Waleed bin Talal, purchased more than 5 percent of the voting stock of the satellite company's parent and of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, parent of Fox News. (See this).

"And from Steven Emerson, world-renowned anti-terrorism expert, senators doubtless would have heard chilling details about the Saudi footprint in America. The mosques, schools (madrassas), student organizations, Muslim-American and Arab-American agitation operations, businesses and recruitment operations -- notably in U.S. prisons and the military -- that are funded and dominated by Islamist Saudi Wahhabis...."

At the same time, while our elected officials are delaying hearings, the United American Committee (UAC), a nonpartisan and diverse group whose focus is Islamic extremism in the United States, is distributing the following material to the Muslim community:

Addressed to the Islamic community of America

NINE DANGER SIGNS OF MILITANT ISLAM

1. Justification of any Islamic Terrorism, Palestinian or otherwise

2. Supporting or refusing to condemn Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, Hamas, or other terrorists or terrorist organizations by name

3. Promoting jihad for Muslims to fight against what they determine is "injustice" or "aggression"

4. Demands for Sharia law in the West, or denying that Sharia forbids equal rights for women and members of religions other than Islam

5. Demanding that Americans accommodate the public expression of Islamic laws, customs, and practices that conflict with, or are harmful to American laws, customs, and practices

6. Denying that Muslims were involved in the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and other attacks around the world

7. Refusal to cooperate with or inciting others not to cooperate with authorities or standard security procedures

8. Branding progressive Muslims or Muslims of different opinions as apostates.

9. Refusal to interact, converse, or socialize with non-Muslims.

Peace-loving Muslims everywhere agree on the need to be alert for any incitements to hate, violence, religious intolerance, or outright lying. We need your help to keep Islam a religion of peace.

One hopes that the laudable words of the above UAC material is interpreted without the nuances of "Differing Definitions." According to Islamic leader Sayyid Qutb,

"When Islam strives for peace, its objective is not that superficial peace which requires that only that part of the earth where the followers of Islam are residing remain secure."

And the last section of the Koran to be revealed contains Sura 9:5, which, back in the fourteenth century, was interpreted as follows:

"Mainstream and respected Qur'an commentator, Isma'il bin Amr bin Kathir al Dimashqi (1301-1372), known popularly as Ibn Kathir, declares that sura 9:5 'abrogated every agreement of peace between the Prophet and any idolater, every treaty, and every term....No idolater had an more treaty of promise of safety ever since Surah Bara'ah was revealed.'"

Furthermore, a search of the web sites of CAIR and MAS, two of the most prominent Muslim groups in the United States, indicates no support or endorsement of either the Senate hearings or the efforts of the UAC. But both CAIR and MAS are staunch advocates of Sign 5:

"Demanding that Americans accommodate the public expression of Islamic laws, customs, and practices that conflict with, or are harmful to American laws, customs, and practices."

So, do we see a Sign 10 to add to "Nine Danger Signs of Militant Islam"? In spite of more than four years having passed since 9/11, our elected representatives refuse to take decisive steps in investigating Saudi Arabia's support of terrorism.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Our neighbor in Central/Southern Virginia and compatriot Baron Bodissey of Gates of Vienna challenges the conventional wisdom that there has been no terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11 by viewing the killings by "Beltway Snipers" John Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo as Islamic terrorism. The MSM did not pursue this angle of the DC sniper story, although people like Michelle Malkin did.

The Baron has garnered a lot of attention throughout the blogosphere lately through his daring effort to get first-hand reporting on Jamaat ul-Fuqra's compound in southern Virginia.

Ramadam-a-ding-dong! My friend The Adventuress notes the article Teaching teachers about Islamic faith from the Baltimore Sun about dawah-ganda in Maryland public schools, right on the heels of the closure of the Fort McHenry and Harbor Tunnels due to terror threats.

An FBI doctor testified Monday that he found no significant scars on the back of a U.S. citizen who claims that Saudi police whipped and tortured him into falsely confessing he joined al-Qaida and plotted to assassinate President Bush.

Prosecutors allege Ahmed Omar Abu Ali joined al-Qaida in 2002 while enrolled in a college in Saudi Arabia. They say he confessed to plotting Bush's assassination along with other terrorist acts, including plans to establish an al-Qaida cell in the United States and to rescue of Muslim prisoners detained at Guantanamo Bay.

Defense lawyers are scheduled to begin presenting their case today in the pretrial hearing at which U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee must decide whether Abu Ali's confession to the Saudis is admissible at trial.

His attorneys want the confession thrown out. They argue that the 24-year-old falsely confessed after being tortured and whipped by the Saudis, and they say U.S. authorities were complicit in the torture.

Friday, October 14, 2005

"WASHINGTON - The American government is demanding that Saudi Arabia account for its distribution of hate material to American mosques, as the State Department pressed Saudi officials for answers last week and as the Senate later this month plans to investigate the propagation of radical Wahhabism on American shores.

"The flurry of activity comes months after a report from the Center for Religious Freedom discovered that dozens of mosques in major cities across the country, including New York, Washington, and Los Angeles, were distributing documents, bearing the seal of the government of Saudi Arabia, that incite Muslims to acts of violence and promote hatred of Jews and Christians.

"A Washington-based group that is part of the human rights organization Freedom House, the Center for Religious Freedom also found during its yearlong study that the Saudi-produced materials describe democracy and America as un-Islamic. They instruct recent Muslim immigrants to consider Americans as enemies and the materials urge new arrivals to use their time here as preparation for jihad. The documents also promote the version of Islam officially embraced by Saudi government and several of the September 11, 2001, hijackers, Wahhabism, as the only authentic Islam.

"In response to the Freedom House report and as part of the Saudi Arabia Accountability Act of 2005 sponsored by Senator Specter, a Republican of Pennsylvania, the Judiciary Committee - of which Senator Specter is chairman - will be holding hearings into the hate materials on October 25, a spokesman for the senator, William Reynolds, said yesterday.

"The Accountability Act, introduced in June, says its purpose is 'to halt Saudi support for institutions that fund, train, incite, encourage, or in any other way aid and abet terrorism, and to secure fully Saudi cooperation in the investigation of terrorist incidents.' The legislation is highly critical of the House of Saud for its support of terrorist activity and cites the January Freedom House report as evidence of the kingdom's complicity in the spread of radical Islamist ideology.

"As part of the Accountability Act, Senator Specter has in the past held Judiciary Committee hearings into Saudi financing of terrorism and Saudi Arabia's role in injecting ideology into textbooks for Palestinian Arab schoolchildren.

"Many of the details of the Judiciary Committee hearing later this month, Mr. Reynolds said, are still being arranged, including a final witness list. In the meantime, the committee expects testimony from the State Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Freedom House, and terrorism experts. The committee will press to determine whether the Saudi government has taken steps to stop the distribution of the materials, and will cull from witnesses recommendations to prevent their future dissemination, Mr. Reynolds said.

"Also demanding answers about the hate materials is the State Department's undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, Karen Hughes. During a high-profile trip to the Middle East last week, Ms. Hughes said American representatives had addressed the propagation of Saudi hate material in America during private meetings with government officials.

"In a State Department briefing held en route to Ankara, Turkey, from Saudi Arabia last Tuesday, Ms. Hughes was asked why she had raised the issue that day during a public meeting with Saudi journalists, becoming the first Am'rican official to do so publicly. 'We had been raising the issue privately,' Ms. Hughes said, 'and as part of raising difficult issues that we need to discuss, I felt it was appropriate.' The undersecretary did not elaborate on the results of the private meetings, but the degree to which Saudi Arabia is making efforts to stop the propaganda will be a subject of the Senate hearings, Mr. Reynolds said.

"Requests for comment from the Embassy of Saudi Arabia yesterday were not returned."

According to Daniel Pipes, the report from Freedom House, an organization which sent Muslim volunteers into fifteen prominent mosques throughout the United States and collected materials disseminated by Saudi Arabia, shows that the following points are expounded in the distributed materials:

"Reject Christianity as a valid faith: Any Muslim who believes 'that churches are houses of God and that God is worshiped therein is an infidel.'

"Insist that Islamic law be applied: On a range of issues, from women (who must be veiled) to apostates from Islam ('should be killed'), the Saudi publications insist on full enforcement of Shariah in America.

"See non-Muslims as the enemy: 'Be dissociated from the infidels, hate them for their religion, leave them, never rely on them for support, do not admire them, and always oppose them in every way according to Islamic law.'

"See America as hostile territory: 'It is forbidden for a Muslim to become a citizen of a country governed by infidels because this is a means of acquiescing to their infidelity and accepting all their erroneous ways.'

"Prepare for war against America: 'To be true Muslims, we must prepare and be ready for jihad in Allah's way. It is the duty of the citizen and the government.'"

And while the Senate is taking a look at Saudi-funded materials distributed to mosques in the United States, perhaps scrutiny of certain Muslim schools should also be undertaken, starting with the nearby Islamic Saudi Academy, from which valedictiorian Ahmed Abu Ali, accused of conspiring with Al Qaeda to assassinate President Bush, graduated. According to this site:

"A few miles outside of Washington and a stone's throw from Mt. Vernon Plantation - George Washington's home - the Saudi government is teaching Wahhab Islam to hundreds of Muslim-American children. The school, called the Islamic Saudi Academy, is one of an estimated 200-600 in the U.S. that indoctrinate 30,000 students in the teachings of Koran...."

On February 25, 2005, the Washington Post published the following information in an article entitled "Where Two Worlds Collide":

"Eleventh-graders at the elite Islamic Saudi Academy in Northern Virginia study energy and matter in physics, write out differential equations in precalculus and read stories about slavery and the Puritans in English.

"Then they file into their Islamic studies class, where the textbooks tell them the Day of Judgment can't come until Jesus Christ returns to Earth, breaks the cross and converts everyone to Islam, and until Muslims start attacking Jews....

'With two lavish campuses in suburban Virginia, dozens of highly qualified teachers and accreditation from two respected organizations, the Islamic Saudi Academy stands out among Muslim schools in the Washington area.

"The academy educates the children of Arabic-speaking diplomats along with other children of differing heritages -- about 1,300 students altogether. But the financial support from the Saudi government brings with it a curriculum that reflects the particularly rigid strain of Islam practiced there, Muslim educators say.

"'One of the things the community has been concerned about for years is the Saudi influence and Saudi money,' said Amir Hussain, a California professor who has researched Muslim communities in North America. 'You have people who come in and say, "Hey, I'll build you a school." Then people begin to realize, if that school gets built with Saudi money, do we want that kind of curriculum?'

"The Islamic Saudi Academy does not require that U.S. history or government be taught, offering Arabic social studies as an alternative. Officials there said that only Saudis who intend to return home do not take U.S. history, though a handful of U.S.-born students who plan to stay in this country said they opted against it, too.

"School officials would not allow reporters to attend classes. But a number of students described the classroom instruction and provided copies of textbooks.

"Ali Al-Ahmed, whose Virginia-based Saudi Institute promotes religious tolerance in Saudi Arabia, has reviewed numerous textbooks used at the academy and said many passages promote hatred of non-Muslims and Shiite Muslims.

"The 11th-grade textbook, for example, says one sign of the Day of Judgment will be that Muslims will fight and kill Jews, who will hide behind trees that say: "Oh Muslim, Oh servant of God, here is a Jew hiding behind me. Come here and kill him."Several students of different ages, all of whom asked not to be identified, said that in Islamic studies, they are taught that it is better to shun and even to dislike Christians, Jews and Shiite Muslims.

"Some teachers 'focus more on hatred,' said one teenager, who recited by memory the signs of the coming of the Day of Judgment. 'They teach students that whatever is kuffar [non-Muslim], it is okay for you' to hurt or steal from that person...

"None of the academy's officials would publicly address the students' statements. One, who spoke anonymously, said he had no knowledge of intolerant passages being assigned or intolerant views being taught. He said textbooks with such passages would be replaced soon....

"The schools are legally allowed to teach whatever they want -- as long as they meet state requirements -- but have a responsibility to be accurate, scholars say.

"'As a matter of educational policy, no, it's not a good idea to cross a nation off the map or to in any way misrepresent history,' said Charles Haynes, of the First Amendment Center in Arlington. 'It is a civic responsibility of all schools, religious and secular, to do the best job of educating students to a variety of perspectives...."

Additional information about Islamic schools in North American can be found hereand here, both of which have links to explore.

"At the Mohave Middle School in Scottsdale, Arizona, students who took a 7th-grade social-studies course during the 2004-2005 school year were subjected to gross, prolonged indoctrination in Islam.

"Much of the indoctrination was delivered in a corrupt schoolbook titled History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond, produced by a commercial publishing company that calls itself the Teachers' Curriculum Institute (TCI). The writers of History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond, by relentlessly presenting Muslim religious tales and religious beliefs as matters of historical fact, have striven hard to induce students to embrace Islam."

Apparently, mosques aren't the only locations for promoting Islamification.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

"During the Beltway Sniper crisis, back in the fall of 2002, a series of articles in The WashingtonTimes described John Allen Muhammad’s conversion to Islam, and his later break with the Nation of Islam (the articles are no longer available, but extracts have been preserved here). Apparently the NOI was not militant enough for Mr. Muhammad, and he left it to become involved with a group called Jamaat ul-Fuqra (Arabic for “community of the impoverished”), a terrorist organization....

"The group was founded in New York by Sheikh Gilani in New York in 1980. Its current headquarters is in Hancock, New York, and it has various compounds, or Jamaats, scattered throughout the United States and Canada, notably in Colorado, New York, Tennessee, Georgia, and Virginia. Most of the adherents are reported to be American-born Black Muslims who follow a strict Islamist ideology.

"Sheikh Gilani, you may remember, is the cleric with whom Daniel Pearl had arranged an interview back in January of 2002. Unfortunately, Mr. Pearl was betrayed by his sources, and then abducted and beheaded. Sheikh Gilani was arrested later that month and languishes in Pakistani custody...."

The article goes on to mention the organization's numerous jihad operations in North America in the 1980's and 1990's, involvement in the planning of the 1993 WTC bombing (Clement Rodney Hampton-el, convicted for connections to the 1993 WTC, was a member of Jamaat al-Fuqra), and possible connections to Richard Reid of shoe-bomber notoriety. Also of note here is that Jamaat al-Fuqra is active within the prisons of various states.

Read the entire article, complete with photos, here. As the Baron has entitled his article "Part I," we can probably look forward to at least one update.

"DUBAI - Al Qaeda frontman in Iraq Abu Musab Al Zarqawi has said Islam permits the killing of 'infidel' civilians, according to an audiotape broadcast on the Internet early Saturday.

“'In Islam, making the difference is not based on civilians and military, but on the basis of Muslims and infidels,' said the voice attributed to the fugitive leader who has a 25-million-dollar price on his head.

“'The Muslim’s blood cannot be spilled whatever his work or place, while spilling the blood of the infidel, whatever his work or place, is authorized if he is not trustworthy,' said the tape, whose veracity could not be determined.

"The recording comes a day after US officials claimed to have seized a letter allegedly sent to Zarqawi by Al Qaeda number two Ayman Zawahiri, in which he raised concerns over the impact on Arab opinion of videotaped executions.

"Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born Islamist extremist, is Iraq’s most wanted man.

"His Al Qaeda Group of Jihad in the Land of Two Rivers has claimed responsibility for some of the most gruesome attacks in Iraq, including the beheadings of foreign hostages and Iraqis."

Zarqawi's words indicate a definition which differs from a Western one and help to explain why after 9/11 many Muslims literally danced for joy. Those who died here on 9/11--the men, women, and children we perceived to be innocent victims, were not innocent in the eyes of Islam.

Certainly, Islamic extremists define innocent in the same way as Zarqawi. According to Ali Hussain, investigative reporter for London's Sunday Times, as reported by Daniel Pipes:

"Ali joined the Saviour Sect in June, a few weeks before the 7/7 bombings and took along his tape recorder. What he heard is hair-raising – it is imperative for Muslims to 'instil terror into the hearts of the kuffar [infidels],' 'I am a terrorist. As a Muslim, of course I am a terrorist,' 'They will build tall buildings and we will bring them down,' the bombings were 'a good start' and Allah should 'bless those involved.'

"He also heard two speakers discuss whom they consider to be innocent.

"Zachariah, referring to the London passengers: 'They're kuffar [infidels]. They're not people who are innocent. The people who are innocent are the people who are with us or those who are living under the Islamic state.'

"Omar Bakri Mohammed, the sect's leader, who publicly condemned the deaths of 'innocents,' but at the Selby Centre in Wood Green, north London, on July 22 referred to the 7/7 bombers as the 'fantastic four' and explained that his grief for the 'innocent' applied only to Muslims.

"'Yes I condemn killing any innocent people, but not any kuffar.'"

In an interview about a month later, Omar Bakri Mohammed elaborated on the his interpretation of innocence when he was interviewed in Lebanon:

"(Q) You said that you are against killing innocent people and have nothing to do with the Al-Qaeda Organization. Now you are calling for jihad. How do you explain your position?

"(A) I have often repeated that I am against the killing of innocent people anywhere in the world but who are the innocent? I keep the answer to myself.

"(Q) Who do you define as innocent?

"(A) The innocent people are specified by Islam. I denounce killing innocent people regardless of who kills them. However, who are the innocent? I do not have to explain this issue.

"(Q) Does this mean that you support killing those whom you consider guilty and those whom Islam as you understand it describes as not innocent?

"Mainstream and respected Qur'an commentator, Isma'il bin Amr bin Kathir al Dimashqi (1301-1372), known popularly as Ibn Kathir, declares that sura 9:5 [the last section of the Qur'an to be revealed] 'abrogated every agreement of peace between the Prophet and any idolater, every treaty, and every term....No idolater had an more treaty of promise of safety ever since Surah Bara'ah was revealed.'"

Spencer also points out the following important information (pages 41-42):

"...Sayyid Qutb, one of the twentieth century's foremost adocates of violent jihad, taught (without a trace of irony) that Islam is a religion of peace. However, he had a very specific kind of peace in mind: 'When Islam strives for peace, its objective is not that superficial peace which requires that only that part of the earth where the followers of Islam are residing remain secure. The peace which Islam desires is that the religion (i.e., the law of the society) be purified for God, that the obedience of all people be for God alone, and that some people should not be lords over others. After the period of the Prophet--peace be on him--only the final stages of the movement of Jihaad are to be followed; the initial or middle stages are not applicable.'

"In other words, Islam is a relgion of the peace that will come when everyone is Muslim or at least subject to the Islamic state. And to establish that peace, Muslims must wage war."

"We have the right to kill 4 million Americans, two million of them children."-Abu Gheith, Al-Qaeda spokesman

"If a bomb was dropped on them that would annihilate 10 million and burn their lands…this is permissible."-Sheikh Nasir bin Hamid al-Fahd, prominent Saudi cleric close to Al-Qaeda

"Our march has just begun and Islam will end up conquering Europe and America. . . And let no one think that we are Utopian dreamers."-Sheikh Saeed Shaaban, quoted in L'Orient le jour, Beirut, 19 October 1983

"A believer...who takes up a gun, a dagger, a kitchen knife or even a pebble with which to harm and kill the enemies of the Faith has his place assured in Heaven. An Islamic state is the sum total of such individual believers. An Islamic state is a state of war until the whole world sees and accepts the light of the True Faith."-Ayatollah Fazl-Allah Mahalati, On the Path of Justice, Tehran, 1980, pp. 70-71

Words matter. Pay attention to what the enemy has said. And know the enemy's definitions of the words.

Once you are aware of the subtleties of definitions and of the concept of Sura 9:5, you just might have a different take on this statement from CAIR, posted in 2001, and on the 2005 Fatwah Against Terror.

Saturday, October 08, 2005

"Nuclear science may not be considered ideal subject matter for a popular song, but the musical boffins in Iran's state media apparatus think differently.

"In recent days, Iran's airwaves have been buzzing with two new tunes apparently designed to rally public support for the clerical regime's increasingly tense stand-off with the West over its nuclear ambitions.

"The first song is entitled 'Oriental Sun, Nuclear Science', and sung to a backdrop of military-style marching music by Ali Tafreshi. The second similarly catchy tune is 'Nuclear Know-How"'by Reza Shirazi.

"Both extol the wonders of a 'great and powerful Iran' which has destroyed 'the arrogance of the oppressors' and 'defends its independence by using science'.

"Despite the heavyweight nationalist lyricism, Iran insists its nuclear programme it strictly peaceful. But the West in unconvinced, and the European Union and United States want Iran to abandon its works on the potentially dual use nuclear fuel cycle and are threatening UN Security Council action.

"The songs, produced by Iran's state television and radio apparatus, have therefore been getting good airplay -- and are also accompanying TV clips of atomic facilities used to praise the 'young engineers who have succeeded, without the help of foreigners, to develop the Iranian nuclear programme'."

"And now, reason No. 1,446 that Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes is having a hard time working the crowd in the Muslim world.

"An ad listing Boeing, Bell Helicopter and other companies making the troubled Osprey CV-22 attack helicopter appeared in the National Journal last week. It shows soldiers rappelling from the chopper onto the roof of a building, which says in Arabic on the side, 'Muhammad Mosque.'

"'It descends from the heavens. Ironically it unleashes hell,' the ad touts. 'The CV-22 delivers Special Forces to insertion points never thought possible.'

"Like a mosque?

"The folks at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), naturally, were furious and protested. Within hours, the companies and the National Journal responded. 'We consider the ad offensive, regret its publication and apologize to those who like us are dismayed with its contents,' Boeing said.

"The companies said they had tried to pull the ad several weeks ago. It ran, National Journal Executive Vice President Elizabeth Baker Keffer told CAIR in an e-mail, 'as the result of a clerical error on our part. We had received specific direction from the agency representing Boeing/Bell to not run the ad. We have apologized to Boeing, their partner Bell and their advertising agency [in Irving, Tex.] for this mistake. We accept full responsibility for the error.'"

Two different governments, with differing perceptions as to what is offensive or dangerous.

Karen Hughes has her work cut out for her--as in the labors of Sisyphus.

Friday, September 30, 2005

Frank Gaffney, Jr., has made a few more points about Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, recent investor in Fox News:

"Al-Waleed is said be the world’s fifth richest man and now NewsCorp’s fourth largest voting shareholder (behind the Murdoch family, Liberty Media and fund giant Fidelity Management & Research Co)....

"[After his check was rejected by Mayor Giuliani] the prince released a statement that blamed the United States and its support for Israel for the devastating 9/11 attacks....

"Shortly after the check fiasco, he permitted the CBS program 60 Minutes to profile him and his hyper-rich, internationally jet-setting lifestyle....[H]e told his incredulous interviewer, Ed Bradley, that that Saudi Arabia is a country with 'no problems.' When pressed, he insisted, 'What I'm telling you is Saudi Arabia has no civil unrest, no civil disobedience. Sorry. Saudi Arabia is a very stable country. Sure…we had these bombs here and there, but they were all related to a certain subject.'

"Even more troubling than having a Saudi spinmeister, even a lousy one, at the decision-making table of America’s most successful, and conservative, television network is another aspect of Al-Waleed’s deal with Mr. Murdoch. The Australian entrepreneur has reportedly also given the prince the unfiltered ability to broadcast Saudi-produced materials directly into America on Murdoch’s satellite....Prince Al-Waleed’s Rotana Audio Visual Company, which operates TV channels in the Middle East, has signed a deal with DirecTV, the TV-satellite firm controlled by NewsCorp. As a result, it would seem Rotana will be able to beam its programs into U.S. cable boxes without interference from federal regulators, or anybody else."

More details about the deal between Murdoch and the Saudi prince are available. Not being any kind of expert in media economics, I don't understand all of what Gaffney is saying. But my intuition tells me that these details are ripe for exploitation.

Broadcasting in Saudi is controlled and censored by the Saudi government. When I send certain articles to my American friends in Saudi, I have to copy and paste entire stories if the links I'm using are not approved ones. Can Saudi extend their own information-control policy to the media in the United States by means of financial investment? Or has Saudi already quietly extended their policy and we don't even realize it?

I may be way out of line here, but I have to ask the following question: Who holds large shares of ABC/Disney, which owns WMAL Radio, the station which dismissed Michael Graham for making negative statements about Islam?

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

This article from FrontPage magazine.com From the White House to the Jail House by Paul Sperry highlights the arrest of political appointee David Hossein Safavian in a Federal corruption case involving a major Washington lobbyist. Safavian's real crime, however, is lobbying for Abdurahman Alamoudi, who was sentenced for accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from Libyan officials and for Dr. Jamal al Barzinji, who is under Federal investigation for providing material support to terrorists. Barzinji was arrested by Fairfax County police at his home at 11919 Safa Court in Herndon in November 2000 and was charged with domestic abuse and resisting arrest.

Monday, September 26, 2005

In my perception, the Fox Network has been quite cautious about saying anything even slightly negative about Islam ever since some outspoken Muslim civil-right groups objected to the plot of 24, a weekly series in which a terrorist was portrayed by an Arab-looking actor. In reaction to the objections or out of fear of legal repercussions--probably both--the network released of a filmed statement by actor Kiefer Sutherland. This statement amounted to a disclaimer: Not all Muslims are terrorists. When I saw that little snippet, I thought to myself, "Well, this is stupid. CAIR [which had, on its website, patted itself on the back as to success in combatting the sterotyping of Muslims] just called attention to something I would never have thought of. 24 is a TV show, not the evening news."

"Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal has purchased 5.46 percent of the Fox corporation, according to Gulf Daily News, raising concern that the conservative Fox News may soften its anti-terror stance due to the views of the new shareholder.

"Al-Waleed, the nephew of the late Saudi King Fahd, was in the news when he visited the World Trade Center's remains just after the September 11th attacks and offered then-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani a $10 million check for relief efforts. Al-Waleed then released a statement blaming US foreign policy and support for Israel for the attacks.

"Giuliani returned the prince's check with a statement that, 'There is no moral equivalent for this attack. The people who did it lost any right to ask for justification when they slaughtered . . . innocent people ... Not only are those statements wrong, they're part of the problem.'"

"An August 29, 2005 program on Saudi Iqra TV was devoted to supporting Jihad in Palestine. The program host began by telling all Saudis that they must donate and explained how to do so.

"A caption then appeared on the screen: 'Saudi Committee for Support of the Al-Quds Intifada, Account No. 98, a joint account at all Saudi banks.' A moderator stated that 'Jihad is the pinnacle of Islam' and explained that the funds would go directly to those waging Jihad, where it would 'help them carry out this mission.'

"The program included the secretary-general of the Saudi government's Muslim World League Koran Memorization Commission, Sheikh Abdallah Basfar, who explained why it was an 'obligation' for all Muslims to support Jihad. He also promised that 'all of the funds sent via the known charities and organizations' would reach 'your Muslim brothers.' "

Rahim Bariek of Herndon is sentenced to 18 months for running an unlicensed money transfer business. Bariek transferred funds to Afghanistan immediately after 9/11 when Afghanistan was under rule by the Taliban